Abstract:
A day after President Bush instructed his Cabinet to develop a plan to improve fuel efficiency in cars and trucks, Nissan opened a facility to explore cutting-edge science like nanotechnology in its quest for environmentally friendly vehicles.

The research at the new facility, the Nissan Advanced Technology Center, will include making more efficient batteries for hybrid cars, including using nanotechnology in the production of lithium-ion batteries.

President Bush's announcement in May came amid news of higher gasoline prices and increased focus on the dangers of global warming. It also came six weeks after the Supreme Court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the greenhouse gases known to contribute to global warming, and nearly four months after the president's State of the Union address in which he proposed plans to cut U.S. gasoline consumption by 20 percent by 2017.